Blackstone Revises Outlook on Anthropic Credit Profile

Blackstone has updated its investor guidance for Anthropic following the completion of a major financing round for its AI infrastructure projects. The firm now anticipates the company will receive a below-investment-grade rating once its initial public offering concludes. This marks a shift from earlier projections of investment-grade status by the end of 2026.

The revised assessment draws from input by leading credit rating agencies. Blackstone highlighted the implications for borrowing costs as Anthropic expands its computing capabilities.

This development comes as the AI firm raises significant capital to support its ambitious expansion plans.

Project North Star Secures $63 Billion for Computing Expansion

Blackstone’s updated view follows the successful close of Anthropic’s $63 billion financing package, known as Project North Star. The arrangement provides funding for leases covering 1.5 gigawatts of computing power powered by Google-designed chips.

Broadcom backs more than $42 billion in senior loans within the package, while Anthropic’s lease payments back $18 billion in junior debt. Blackstone-managed funds committed $9 billion to the junior portion, earning yields exceeding 10 percent.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency assigned the junior debt a BB+ rating with a positive outlook, and Morningstar DBRS rated the overall financing BB.

Anthropic Holds Over $112 Billion in Cash

Anthropic currently maintains more than $112 billion in cash and cash equivalents, according to available reports. Its prospectus details plans to allocate over $800 billion toward computing infrastructure development through 2045.

This substantial cash position provides some buffer, yet the scale of ongoing obligations—estimated in the hundreds of billions—complicates the company’s credit profile as it prepares for public markets.

Impact on IPO Path and Future Ratings

Anthropic filed its registration statement with the SEC on October 26 and has proposed listing on Nasdaq under the ticker ANT. Earlier, KBRA assigned the company a BB+ issuer rating tied to a $35 billion chip-financing package from June. That rating, one notch below investment grade, covered subordinated debt yielding about 8.5 percent and senior debt at 5.75 percent.

Seaport has deferred assigning its own rating until after the IPO. No official ratings have been issued by Fitch, Moody’s, or S&P.

Blackstone’s warning underscores how the company’s heavy investment in AI computing resources could keep its credit rating in the speculative category, potentially affecting access to certain institutional capital.